The planet Aethra, more formally known as Æthrahenna, is the seat or power of the Ordo Caelara and the planet of origin for the Caelaran Faith.
The planet is populated by a mix of Humans and Highmonians
Climate and Geography
Aethra has an average temperature below freezing, but features many volcano's which belch up rivers of magma that flow back into the mantle at deep crevices. The area around these magma rivers often feature 'hot zones' - area's which are unnaturally hot due to the volcanic activity.
Along with magma, these volcano's also spew up large clouds of toxic gasses which block much of the suns light from reaching the surface and which cause acidic rains to fall from the sky in the more arid regions.
Despite these unwelcoming circumstances, the planet remarkably features a reasonably large amount of flora tuned to the infrared that penetrates the cloud cover as the volcanic wastelands are especially fertile.
Though it lacks oceans, Aethra features [five] large seas, including one permanently frozen at the northern pole.
Due to it's history, many parts of the planet feature ancient ruins of civilization from before the time of chaos, most often in the form of metal pillars that once formed the foundation of larger structures that have since been otherwise destroyed.
The planet's major population centers are located in so called cloud cities, elevated high above the surface on tall spires. Being above the toxic clouds most of the time, these cities have full access to sunlight and are generally far more pleasant than the surface.
World History
A high technology trade hub with hundreds of billions of inhabitants before the Times of Chaos, Aethra has seen significantly better times.
At the start of the Times of Chaos, the world's government and society suffered a complete and total collapse, with the vast majority of the planets population dying from famine, disease and war.
The planet's current climate is likely at least in part the result of the failure of terraformation processes being interrupted around that time, though religious history speaks of an event called Star Fall being responsible. This description, which details that "all the stars in heaven fell to the surface", is likely not an entirely accurate scientific description of what happened.
Another major event in the planets history is the Rise of Caelara, a series of conflicts and wars eventually led to the Ordo Caelara taking control of the planet.